The vaccine of Chen Wei’s team finally released the third phase data. Expert： Single needle has high efficiency and is suitable for rapid mass vaccination.

[Global Times-Global Network Reporter Zhao Juekun, Bai Yunyi and Hu Yuwei] Following the release of phase III clinical data of two inactivated vaccines of Sinopharm Group China Bio and Kexing Zhongwei, the latest data of another technical route for the deployment of COVID-19 vaccine in China, the adenovirus vector vaccine Ad5-nCoV jointly developed by Academician Chen Wei of the Academy of Military Sciences and Kangxinuo Bio, was released on the 8th. Pakistani health officials announced on the same day that the mid-term analysis of the third phase clinical trial of Ad5-nCoV in Pakistan showed that the protective efficacy of the vaccine against severe COVID-19 was 100% and the overall protective efficacy was 74.8%.

The Ad5-nCoV vaccine developed by Chen Wei’s team is the first COVID-19 vaccine in the world to enter the clinical research stage, and it is also one of the only single-needle vaccines in the world that have released the phase III trial data. Many experts told the Global Times reporter that the effective rate data of this vaccine is very good, and single-needle vaccination means that large-scale rapid vaccination can be achieved, which is of great significance to the overall epidemic prevention strategy of society.

Faiso Sultan, special assistant to Pakistan’s Prime Minister in charge of national health affairs, said on the 8th local time that the mid-term analysis of the third phase clinical trial conducted by Ad5-nCoV (also known as "Kvisha" or "Convidecia") in Pakistan showed that after 28 days of single-needle vaccination, the protective effect of the vaccine on severe COVID-19 was 100%, and the overall protective effect was 74.8%, without any serious adverse reactions related to the vaccine.

The official also revealed that the data of the third phase clinical trial of Ad5-nCoV in the world showed that the protective effect of the vaccine on severe COVID-19 was 90.98% and the overall protective effect was 65.7% after 28 days of single-needle vaccination. According to the announcement issued by Kangxinuo Bio on the 1st, the phase III clinical trial of Ad5-nCoV has completed the inoculation of more than 40,000 subjects in 78 clinical research centers in five countries. It is reported that the countries in which Ad5-nCoV is undergoing phase III clinical trials include Mexico, Russia, Pakistan, Argentina and Chile.

Ad5-nCoV was jointly developed by the team of Academician Chen Wei from the Institute of Bioengineering, Academy of Military Medicine, and Kangxinuo Bio. The first and second clinical trials were launched in Wuhan on March 16th and April 12th last year, respectively. It is the first COVID-19 vaccine in the world to enter the clinical research stage. The results of clinical trials initially proved that the vaccine was safe, and the data of two-stage clinical trials were published in the internationally renowned medical journal The Lancet.

A China expert in immunology told the Global Times reporter on the 8th that the effective rate data of Ad5-nCoV is very good, especially considering that it is one of the few single-needle COVID-19 vaccines, and it is difficult to reach a high level of neutralizing antibody titer without the second booster. "If we have to compare it horizontally, the effective rate of Ad5-nCoV should be compared with the data of other vaccines after the first injection." Zhuang Shili, a professional in the field of vaccine, and his doctor also told the Global Times reporter on the same day that although on the surface, the overall efficiency of the vaccine seems to be lower than that of other adenovirus vector vaccines, but an important prerequisite should be considered, that is, Kangxinuo vaccine is one of the few single-needle vaccines.

At present, the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine (AZD1222), Johnson & Johnson vaccine (Ad26.COV2.S) and Russian "Satellite V" are also developed by the same technical route as Kangxinuo vaccine in the world, among which only Kangxinuo vaccine and Johnson & Johnson vaccine are single-shot vaccines. On January 29th this year, Johnson & Johnson announced the results of the third phase clinical trial of its vaccine. After 28 days, the total effective rate of COVID-19 vaccine for moderate and severe COVID-19 reached 66%, and the effective rate of preventing serious diseases in all research areas was 85%. In contrast, although Johnson & Johnson vaccine is also a single injection, its effective rate is 66% without mild symptoms, and its 85% severe prevention effect is not as good as 90.98% of Ad5-nCoV.

"Specifically, in the adenovirus vector vaccine, the data of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is rather confusing. On the whole, the effective rate of double needles is not high, only 70%; The data of Russian’ Satellite V’ vaccine is optimistic, with the overall effective rate of 91.6%, which is the only adenovirus vector vaccine with an overall effective rate of over 90%. In addition, according to its paper published in The Lancet, the effective rate of’ Satellite V’ after the first injection is 73.1%, which is also a good data. Overall, the single-needle effective rate of Kangxinuo vaccine can reach 65.7%, which is a very good result. " Zhuang Shili and said.

According to the analysis of the above immunologists, the procedure of single-needle vaccination is simple, and more people can be vaccinated in the same time period, which is beneficial to protect as many people as possible in the shortest time. Zhuang Lihe also believes that Ad5-nCoV can achieve rapid mass vaccination, and the 90% severe prevention rate means that the pressure on inpatient beds can be greatly reduced. It is understood that another advantage of Kangxinuo vaccine is that it only needs to be stored at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius and is suitable for transportation and distribution.

However, the data released by Pakistan this time did not mention whether the effectiveness of Kangxinuo vaccine will be affected by virus mutation. Previously, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, etc. all reported that the protective efficacy of vaccines against South African mutant strains was reduced. In addition, the immunologist interviewed by Global Times added that it is necessary to further observe the adverse reaction data of Kangxinuo vaccine, because the adenovirus vector vaccine is essentially similar to a cold virus, which may cause some cold symptoms during the vaccination process. Whether it is recommended to vaccinate people with weak health needs further observation.